Improvement in potato-diggers



l. M. WHITMAN.

Potato-Diggers.

No.154. 20l. Patented Aug.18,1874.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. WHITMAN, OF PEGKVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN POTATO-DIGGERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,201, dated August 18, 1874; application filed July 15, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES M. WHITMAN, of Peckville, in the county of Luzerne'and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Potato-Diggers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. p

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a potato-digger, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my potatodigger, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section'of the same.

A represents the axle, with a driving-wheel, B, at each end. On the axle is a frame, or, rather, two side bars, 0 O, pivoted,which bars are connected at their front ends by a plat form, D, supporting. the drivers seat E, and at the rear ends of said bars are small wheels G G, adjustable up and down, to regulate the depth at which the digging-teeth are to work. The team is attached to a tongue hinged to the front of the platform D. On the axle A, near each end, is also pivoted a bar, H, extending rearward, and in the rear ends of said bars is journaled a roller, I, through which passes a series of wire teeth, a a, in the form of an 8. Upon the ends of the roller-journals are secured pinions b, which gear with and receive motion from cog-wheels J, secured on the inner sides of the driving-wheels B.

From the rear ends of the bars H extend standards K, in the upper ends of which is journaled a roller, L, provided on one side with a series of straight teeth, d. This roller receives a rotating motion from one of the pinions b by means of a series of pinions, h, as shown.

When the machine is in operation, the roller I revolves, and the S-shaped teeth a dig up the potatoes-it being understood that the vmachine straddles the rowa-nd deposit the potatoes on a screen, M, attached to the standards K, as shown, so as to separate the dirt from the potatoes. The roller L revolves in the opposite direction from the roller I, and the straight teethd pass between the S-shaped teeth a, and clean them from all grass, weeds, or other trash. The roller I is raised up out of the ground by means of a cam-lever, N, I

bearing against a projection, i, on the front end of one of the arms H.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In the potato-digger, the revolving roller I, provided with the S-shaped teeth a, in combination with the revolving roller L, provided with the straight cleaning-teeth d, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination of the arms H H, axle A, driving-wheels B, with cog-wheels J, digging-roller I a, cleaner L d, and pinionsb h, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. The combination of the frame 0 D, adjustable wheels G, and the arms H, carrying the digger I a, cleaner L d, and the screen M, all as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of May, 1874.

JAMES M. WHITMAN.

In presence of- JOHN WILKIE, U. V. MACE. 

